Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty knows that injuries have played a big role in the Reds' start. Gary Landers/The Cincinnati Enquirer

Written by

John Fay
| The Cincinnati Enquirer

CINCINNATI - When general manager Walt Jocketty put together this Reds team, he and everyone else expected a club that was better than the one that has hovered just above .500 and has been looking up from third place in the National League Central standings.

But, grading on a curve, Jocketty gives the team passing marks. The Reds lost their cleanup hitter, Ryan Ludwick, on Opening Day. No. 1 starter Johnny Cueto joined Ludwick on the disabled list two weeks into the season.